Comments on: Bernie’s bargain hunt

By: Journeyer

Journeyer — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:37:01 +0000

I see Bernie as an investor, but he won’t do any day-to-day work. He’s investing to help GenII get Saab and cushion the fall of a Renault pullout – get them to rebadge as Saab F1 or somesuch. Looks like he’s confident enough GenII can properly run Saab while they now owe a debt of gratitude to him…

By: Le FOFA Chairman

Le FOFA Chairman — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:48:01 +0000

Stuart C :The most peculiar Saab quirk was that you had to pop the gearlever into reverse before it would let you have the ignition key back – supposedly a safety feature, but merely annoying.

Oui, simplicity is always the key to design and build a good car. Last summer I was asked to move a new VW Passat because it was blocking another car at the entrance of our hotel (I work in hotel business in real life) - I spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out what the car wanted from me in order to start moving, I think it was the seat belt, some strange button and I had to press the brake pedal or something. I tend to think that maybe 1980s cars were probably the best cars ever built.

By: Steven Roy

Steven Roy — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:53:05 +0000

My first thought when this story surfaced is that Bernie is suddenly going to find out about hard work. The model range is a mess. Any brand value Saab used to have is gone and there is little that can be done to improve sales until a new model is launched and that will take years.

Unlike F1 where he has been the only show in town for decades the car business is a genuine;y competitive market so none of his usual tactics is going to work there. I really don’t see why he wants the hassle of running a car plant and all the potential heartache that will give him.

By: Stuart C

Stuart C — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:10:41 +0000

The most peculiar Saab quirk was that you had to pop the gearlever into reverse before it would let you have the ignition key back – supposedly a safety feature, but merely annoying.

By: Le FOFA Chairman

Le FOFA Chairman — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:44:38 +0000

Saab’s a weird brand, I once had to deliver a Saab (used to work in a car dealership) and nothing seemed to work, all buttons were in all the wrong places, interior was falling apart. To be honest it reminded me of Volga – the fat old russian car most of you probable have never heard about.

Genii and BE would have to get rid of all the current Saab models as they simply suck big time. The best brand GM has is Chevrolet, the ones they produce in Korea for the European market are quite good, I think I’ll buy a 3-door Aveo, cheaper than Twingo but in a way a lot better.

The best cars are Italian and French, period. But they’re expensive, period. So I personally don’t care, a car is just a can on wheels with an engine, period. F1 cars inspire me, road cars all suck, period. Maybe Zonda doesn’t suck, period. But it’s expensive.